What
did the Mossad know in advance about
September 11 (and not pass on to USA
allies?)

BRIT HUME, HOST: It has been more than
16 years since a civilian working for the
Navy was charged with passing secrets to
Israel. Jonathan
Pollard pled guilty to conspiracy
to commit espionage and is serving a life
sentence. At first, Israeli leaders
claimed Pollard was part of a rogue
operation, but later took responsibility
for his work.

Now Fox News has learned some U.S.
investigators believe that there are
Israelis again very much engaged in spying
in and on the U.S.,
who may have known
things they didn't tell us before
September 11. Fox News
correspondent Carl Cameron has
details in the first of a four-part
series.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARL
CAMERON, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Since
September 11, more than 60 Israelis
have been arrested or detained, either
under the new patriot anti-terrorism
law, or for immigration violations. A
handful of active Israeli military were
among those detained, according to
investigators, who say some of the
detainees also failed polygraph
questions when asked about alleged
surveillance activities against and in
the United States.

There
is no indication that the Israelis were
involved in the 9-11 attacks, but
investigators suspect that they
Israelis may have gathered intelligence
about the attacks in advance, and not
shared it. A highly placed investigator
said there are "tie-ins." But when
asked for details, he flatly refused to
describe them, saying, "evidence
linking these Israelis to 9-11 is
classified. I cannot tell you about
evidence that has been gathered. It's
classified information."

Fox
News has learned that one group of
Israelis, spotted in North Carolina
recently, is suspected of keeping an
apartment in California to spy on a
group of Arabs who the United States is
also investigating for links to
terrorism. Numerous classified
documents obtained by Fox News indicate
that even prior to September 11, as
many as 140 other Israelis had been
detained or arrested in a secretive and
sprawling investigation into suspected
espionage by Israelis in the United
States.

Investigators
from numerous government agencies are
part of a working group that's been
compiling evidence since the mid '90s.
These documents detail hundreds of
incidents in cities and towns across
the country that investigators say,
"may well be an organized intelligence
gathering activity."

The
first part of the investigation focuses
on Israelis who say they are art
students from the University of
Jerusalem and Bazala Academy. They
repeatedly made contact with U.S.
government personnel, the report says,
by saying they wanted to sell cheap art
or handiwork.

Documents
say they, "targeted and penetrated
military bases." The DEA, FBI and
dozens of government facilities, and
even secret offices and unlisted
private homes of law enforcement and
intelligence personnel. The majority of
those questioned, "stated they served
in military intelligence, electronic
surveillance intercept and or explosive
ordinance units."

Another
part of the investigation has resulted
in the detention and arrests of dozens
of Israelis at American mall kiosks,
where they've been selling toys called
Puzzle Car and Zoom Copter.
Investigators suspect a
front.

Shortly
after The New York Times and Washington
Post reported the Israeli detentions
last months, the carts began vanishing.
Zoom Copter's Web page says, "We are
aware of the situation caused by
thousands of mall carts being closed at
the last minute. This in no way
reflects the quality of the toy or its
salability. The problem lies in the
operators' business
policies."

Why
would Israelis spy in and on the U.S.?
A general accounting office
investigation referred to Israel as
country A and said, "According to a
U.S. intelligence agency, the
government of country A conducts the
most aggressive espionage operations
against the U.S. of any U.S.
ally."

A
defense intelligence report said Israel
has a voracious appetite for
information and said, "the Israelis are
motivated by strong survival instincts
which dictate every possible facet of
their political and economical
policies. It aggressively collects
military and industrial technology and
the U.S. is a high priority
target."

The
document concludes: "Israel possesses
the resources and technical capability
to achieve its collection
objectives."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

A spokesman for the Israeli embassy
here in Washington issued a denial saying
that any suggestion that Israelis are
spying in or on the U.S. is "simply not
true." There are other things to consider.
And in the days ahead, we'll take a look
at the U.S. phone system and law
enforcement's methods for wiretaps. And an
investigation that both have been
compromised by our friends overseas.

HUME: Carl, what about this question of
advanced knowledge of what was going to
happen on 9-11? How clear are
investigators that some Israeli agents may
have known something?

CAMERON: It's very explosive
information, obviously, and there's a
great deal of evidence that they say they
have collected none of it necessarily
conclusive. It's more when they put it all
together. A bigger question, they say, is
how could they not have known? Almost a
direct quote.

HUME: Going into the fact that they
were spying on some Arabs, right?

CAMERON: Correct.

HUME: All right, Carl, thanks very
much.

THIS news story has not been
picked up by a single other
television network or newspaper.
Like the crash of United flight
93 it is a non-event, not to be
investigated.